Working at Walt Disney World opens you up to a whole new world of intriguing individuals. From guests to fellow Cast Members, you’re sure to meet plenty of interesting characters. After you’ve worked your way through a few different locations, however, you start to notice that you encounter many of the same personalities again and again.
Something about the life of a Cast Member appeals to these distinctive personality types, though for very different reasons. Chat with some of the Cast Members around during your visit and you’ll likely spot many of these predictable personalities populating the parks.
1. The idealistic college program student
The CP life is often like a dream
Image: MCC Current, Flickr (license)
College Program Cast Members, or “CPs,” abound throughout the Disney parks. They’re typically college-aged kids in their late teens and early 20s. However, there’s no age limit for the College Program. The only requirement is that you’re currently enrolled in college, so you’ll occasionally find older participants.
Regardless of their age, CPs tend to have a wild and idealistic edge to them. Many CPs are at Disney because they’re feeling out their opportunities for making a career in the company. Those who are enrolled in some of the college-level courses available during the program tend to get deeply entrenched in the corporate culture, with eyes on the ultimate prize of working their way up through the ranks of the Walt Disney Company.
For those who forego the classes, College Program is essentially a college experience where you swap out classes and studying for theme parks and entertainment. It can get quite wild, and there’s no shortage of CPs trying to hide a hangover. Still, the entire experience of living in the Disney apartment communities and leaving school behind to work for the mouse is a heady one that leaves a certain frenetic sheen to these Cast Members.
2. The dedicated Disney lifer
Every so often, you’ll come across a Cast Member who is so entrenched in the Disney way of life that you know they’ll never leave. These CMs have often come to almost personify an attraction. Everyone knows their name and they enjoy a certain deference in their area, even from coordinators and managers. Some have commandeered their own closets, chairs, or corners as personal break or storage areas, and no one would dare to argue with them.
The Disney lifer will never leave, but in exchange for a lifetime as an hourly employee for a major theme park, they’ve carved out a special little place for themselves. You often get the sense that the lifers enjoy things a bit differently. They have a more commanding presence than other CMs, and they’re best ones to approach for little known Disney lore.
3. The pixie-dusted disney fan
Some CMs just ooze Disney joy
Image: mitchell haindfield, Flickr (license)
Some Cast Members work at Disney not for the paycheck, benefits, or other perks, but for the sheer joy of spending their time in the theme parks. They immerse themselves in Disney trivia, spend their free time reading biographies of Walt, and have Mickey Mouse emblazoned on most of their personal belongings.
These Cast Members have a true passion for the parks, and it shows in their unwavering smile, bouncy demeanor, and upbeat attitude. They somehow manage to consistently embody everything the Disney ideal is meant to be about, but their boundless optimism can chafe a bit on coworkers who are in constant contact with it.
4. The carefree retiree
It’s no secret that Disney doesn’t pay very well. Working as an hourly Cast Member isn’t a great way to support a growing family, but it can offer a decent supplemental income if you’re looking for something entertaining to do for a few hours every week.
These older Cast Members are much more laid back than their younger counterparts. They’re often extremely skilled at shrugging off the tirades of unhappy guests, taking very few of these complaints to heart. Though they may not have the detailed knowledge of CMs who entrench themselves deeply in the company’s history and culture, they’re some of the easiest people in the park to deal with.
5. The cynical long-timer
Something strange happens to CPs and even the pixie-dusted devotees when they’re in the same position for too long. Cast Members who stay in hourly positions for years – or even decades – at a time tend to morph into cynical long-timers. If you can power through this phase you might make it to the level of a Disney lifer, but there’s a long period in between that’s difficult for most to deal with.
After years of pointing guests to the restroom, hunting for lost sunglasses, and helping guests time the arrival of the 3 o’clock parade, it all starts to wear a bit thin. Cynicism can start to set in and give a certain edge to these Cast Members. Though they still see the magic of the job most days, you can tell some of the shine of working for Disney has worn off for the time being.
Though there are plenty of Cast Members who fall outside these bounds, you may be surprised at how often you can spot these typical characters around the parks, playing out their roles as surely as Mickey Mouse and Cinderella.
